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That Which Survives (episode)
Enterprise crew members are stranded on a ghost planet and terrorized by the image of a beautiful woman. Summary The [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)|USS Enterprise]] investigates a planet whose apparent geological age is much less than the indigenous vegetation and atmospheric content would indicate. Captain Kirk organizes a landing party consisting of himself, Doctor McCoy, helmsman Sulu, and senior geologist D'Amato. As the party transports to the surface of the planet, a mysterious woman appears, telling them that they must not go. She then touches the transporter operator, who falls to the ground as the dematerializing landing party watches helplessly. Once on the planet, Kirk attempts to contact the Enterprise to report the attack, but before he can do so, a powerful tremor rocks the planet and the Enterprise. The crew of the Enterprise quickly discovers that the planet is gone, while the landing party discovers that the Enterprise is missing. On the surface of the planet, the landing party speculates that the Enterprise has exploded or hit the surface of the planet, although neither of these theories fit the facts. Recognizing that, regardless of the Enterprise’s fate, the landing party will soon need food and water, Kirk orders a detailed analysis of the planet. The report is not encouraging, as all plant vegetation on the planet is poisonous to humans, there is no evidence of rainfall or surface water, and the only other form of life is a virus-like plant parasite. During the survey, Sulu makes a sweep with his tricorder and registers a sudden magnetic reading that quickly dissipates, like a door opening and then closing again. McCoy also detects a powerful life form reading that appears and then disappears. These fluctuations are caused when the same woman who appeared in the transporter room of the Enterprise appears to D’Amato, killing him with her touch. McCoy reports that all the cells of D’Amato’s body have been exploded from the inside. Kirk attempts to dig a grave for the geologist with his phaser, but the surface of the planet withstands its force. Further investigation reveals that the planet is an artificial body. In the mean time, the crew of the Enterprise attempts to discern what happened. The Enterprise has also suffered a casualty — the transporter officer, who is dead because, as reported by Doctor M'Benga, all the cells of his body have been individually blasted from the inside. On the bridge, helm officer Lieutenant Rhada notes that the position of the stars have changed, and Spock is able to interpolate that, in a manner of seconds, the Enterprise has somehow been knocked 990.7 lightyears from its previous position. Spock orders that the Enterprise return to the planet at top warp speed. Although the ship did not appear to suffer any damage, chief engineer Montgomery Scott is disquieted, and reports that the ship feels wrong. Spock initially dismisses this as emotionalism. Still concerned, Scotty instructs crewman Watkins to check the bypass value on the matter-antimatter reaction chamber to ensure that it is not overheating. While Watkins is doing so, the woman appears in the control room, killing him in the same manner as the others. Before Watkins dies, he cries out a warning about the intruder, but she disappears. Back on the surface of the planet, the woman appears to Sulu and, although she is able to briefly touch him, only injures his shoulder. Kirk and McCoy run to his rescue, and Sulu cries out not to let her touch them. The woman insists that she is for Sulu, and that she must touch him. When she touches Kirk, however, nothing happens. Kirk asks how she can destroy others, and she explains that she does not want to destroy. She then disappears. The landing party surmises that the woman’s destructive power can only be directed at one specific person at a time. When the woman reappears to kill Kirk, the landing party is able to use this information to defend him. Kirk questions her, and she explains that she is Losira, the commander of the station. When Kirk asks how she feels about killing him, she says that killing is wrong, but that she must do so. She says that she is sent to defend the station, although the people who once lived on it are no more. Kirk presses her, sensing her confusion and loneliness, and she disappears again. Following their tricorder readings, the landing party finds an underground door into the planet-station. Aboard the Enterprise, which is warping back to the planet, the ship’s engines begin to race out of control. Scotty discovers that the emergency overload bypass of the matter-antimatter integrator has been fused, although it would have taken all the power of the ship’s phasers to do so. It becomes apparent that the woman has also sabotaged the ship. With this part damaged, the Enterprise has less than fifteen minutes before its engines explode. Spock and Scotty devise a risky plan to save the ship — Scotty will enter the crawlway leading to the matter-antimatter reaction chamber and attempt to manually shut off the flow of fuel with a magnetic probe. Scotty installs explosives at the end of the service crawlway that will permit Spock to jettison the pod if Scotty ruptures the magnetic bottle. Recalling Scotty’s assertion that the ship felt wrong, Spock runs an analysis comparing the condition of the Enterprise with its ideal condition. This analysis proves crucial, for Spock discovers that the Enterprise has been put through a molecular transporter and then reassembled slightly out of phase, which will require Scott to reverse the polarity on the magnetic probe in order to seal the incision. Scott attempts to do so as the final seconds tick down, but the mechanism on the probe jams. Scotty tells Spock to jettison him, but Spock gives him a few seconds more. Scotty is able to loosen the tool and, moments before the engines go critical, accomplishes the task. On the planet, the landing party enters a computer room, where they are confronted with three versions of the destructive woman, one programmed to kill each of them. The landing party seems to be out of options when Spock and a security officer beam into the room and destroy the computer. The women disappear and are replaced by a recorded image of Losira. In the recording, Losira welcomes her fellow Kalandans to the colony. She explains that the population of the colony has been destroyed by a disease that they accidentally produced when they created the planet. Losira is the last survivor, and because she does not believe she will survive until help arrives, has set the station defense mechanism on automatic to defend against other life forms. McCoy surmises that the entire species was destroyed by the disease, and that the image of Losira has been waiting thousands of years to deliver her message to a people who have become extinct. It is apparent to the landing party that the computer defense mechanism called upon the only image available, that of Losira, but the replication was too perfect and projected so much of her personality that it felt regret and guilt at killing. They agree that she was a remarkable and beautiful women. Spock says that beauty is transitory, but Kirk disagrees, saying “beauty survives”. Memorable Quotes "A planet even Spock can't explain!" : - Kirk "I am for you, D'Amato." "Lucky D'Amato..." : - Losira and [[D'Amato (Lieutenant)|'D'Amato']] "The occipital area of my head seems to have impacted with the arm of the chair." : - Spock "Mr. Sulu, if I had wanted a Russian history lesson I'd have brought along Mr. Chekov." : - Kirk "I'll sit on the warp engines myself and nurse them." "That position, Mr. Scott, would be not only unavailing, but also... undignified." : - Scotty and Spock, discussing the pros and cons of high-warp travel "(The grave) looks so lonely there, ''" "''It would be worse if he had company" : - Sulu and McCoy "Well, the pattern of cellular disruption was the same, but as to the cause, well, your guess is as good as mine." "My ''guess, Doctor, would be valueless. I suggest we refrain from guessing and find some facts. Spock out." : - '''Dr. M'Benga' and Spock "We should reach maximum overload in about 15 minutes." "I would calculate 14.87 minutes, Mr. Scott." "Those few seconds will not make any difference, Mr. Spock, because you and I and the rest of the crew will no longer be here to bandy it back and forth. This thing is going to blow up, and there's nothing in the universe can stop it." : - Mr. Scott and Spock "I know what time it is. I don't need a bloomin' cuckoo clock." : - Scotty "I must touch you. I beg it. It is my existence. You are my match, James T. Kirk." : - Losira "Mr. Scott; you have completed your task!" "You could at least say 'thank 'ye'." "For what purpose?" : - Spock and Scotty Background Information * In the story outline, "Survival" ( ) the image of Losira was more brutal and caused crewmembers to fight amongst themselves in a manner that seems reminiscent of the Defiant's crew in "The Tholian Web". Final draft script , filmed late September, early October. * In a change from the standard planet set that was re-used so often on the series, an entire new set was created that could be "rocked" during the planetary quake. * Although his name is mentioned after Sulu's attempted "Russian history lesson," the character of Chekov does not appear in this episode. * A new set was also constructed for the matter/anti-matter access crawl way. * This is the only example in TOS of people shown moving while in a transporter beam. In Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, people are even able to talk while being transported. * Sulu refers to the Tunguska Event in this episode. Although he suggests that the huge impact in Russia was a meteor, many scientists believe it might have been a comet that struck the Earth in 1908. * The temperature of a phaser is established as 8,000 °C in this episode. * It is also learned that a tricorder can be set on automatic distress. Many prop-conscious fans have called this particular example a "geological tricorder," given that it was carried by D'Amato. It substitutes an intermittently glowing white panel for the usual tape discs, and a small tube for the moiré-patterened left-hand disc. Franz Joseph combined elements of both varieties to depict a "medical tricorder" in the Star Fleet Technical Manual. * Booker Bradshaw reprises his role as Dr. M'Benga in this episode. * This is the second time Enterprise crewmembers create a resting place for a fallen comrade; it had happened before in the first season's The Galileo Seven, where crewmembers Latimer and Gaetano were buried. Fabricated headstones were used for the Starnes expedition in "And the Children Shall Lead." * Lt. Rahda is unique in several ways: she is the only woman in TOS to be at the helm for an entire episode (Yeoman Rand had "filled in" in "The Naked Time"). Ensign Jana Haines had been a female navigator in "The Gamesters of Triskelion" and Uhura had taken over navigation in "The Naked Time", "Balance of Terror" and "Court Martial". Rahda is also the only Indian woman to appear in the series. Captain Chandra and Lt. Singh were two males of Indian descent in previous episodes. * The bypass valve room that Watkins enters consists of re-used pieces of the Yonada control room from "For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky." The control panel was re-used from the Vians torture chamber in "The Empath." * Kenneth Washington replaced Ivan Dixon in the final season of "Hogan's Heroes." * In this episode, Sulu mentions the Hortas of Janus VI from "The Devil in the Dark". * The fact that the bridge was a "wild" set, with stations that could be pulled out for filming, is especially apparent in this episode (Acts 1, 3 and 4). When Spock is notified of Ensign Wyatt's death, you can plainly see the forward edge of his science station, and Spock's hand over the edge. The bridge stations flow in a circle--broken only by the turbolift and the screen; there are two large stations and one small one forward from the science station. Production Timeline * Series proposal, "Star Trek is...": - Mentions similar story idea "The Radiant One" * Story outline by D.C. Fontana, * Revised story outline * Story outline, * Revised teleplay, * Final draft teleplay, * Filmed in late September 1968 and early October 1968 Links and References *VHS edition available through Amazon under ISBN 6300988651. Main cast * William Shatner as Kirk * Leonard Nimoy as Spock * DeForest Kelley as McCoy * James Doohan as Scott * George Takei as Sulu * Nichelle Nichols as Uhura Guest Stars * Arthur Batanides as D'Amato * Booker Bradshaw as M'Benga * Lee Meriwether as Losira * Naomi Pollack as Rahda * Kenneth Washington as John B. Watkins * Brad Forrest as Wyatt * William Blackburn as Hadley (uncredited) * Frank da Vinci as Vinci (uncredited) * Roger Holloway as Roger Lemli (uncredited) References Chekov, Pavel; diburnium; Fifth Interstellar Geophysical Conference; Horta; Janus VI; Kalandan; Kalandan outpost; meteor; osmium; Sanchez; Siberia; Wyatt External Links * |next= |lastair= |nextair= }} Category:TOS episodes de:Gefährliche Planetengirls es:That Which Survives nl:That Which Survives